Category Minority Veterans
ASIAN AMERICAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH: CAMPAIGN TO HONOR CHINESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETS WITH CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL CONTINUES
During an 18-month stretch of World War II, three brothers of a Chinese American family from Los Angeles all joined the United States Military. Herbert Tom went into the U.S. Army in January 1943, serving in the Army Air Corps’ 9th Air Force in Europe until after the war’s end. The eldest brother, George W. […]
WOMEN VETERANS GETTING HELP FROM A VET WHO KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT MINEFIELDS IN TRANSITION TO CIVILIAN LIFE
For a significant portion of her career in the U.S. Marine Corps, Jodie Grenier collected and used information about enemy threats in order to minimize the danger to her fellow troops in Iraq. That included knowing whether and where minefields and weapon systems existed. “My job, essentially, was to collect information to mitigate threats to […]
IT’S A WRAP: VETERANS GETTING NEW HOMES ON “EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION” SHOW AIRING SUNDAY, MARCH 15
A partnership between the California Department of Veterans Affairs Residential Enriched Neighborhood Program (CalVet REN), the city of Palmdale, and Homes 4 Families Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods® that provides homes to military veterans, will be featured at 8 p.m. Sunday in an episode of HGTV Channel’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. “This is an amazing partnership and […]
PIONEER, TRAILBLAZER: VIRGINIA MAE DAYS WAS ONE OF A KIND AS CALVET DIRECTOR
NOTE: As we honor women veterans during Women’s History Month, CalVet remembers one of its own. The late Virginia Mae Days served as CalVet’s director from 1975-81, retiring more than a decade before CalVet became a cabinet level department headed by a secretary. Her story, published on CalVet Connect last fall, bears repeating. In a […]
COLONEL IRMA COOPER DEFIED THE ODDS
A leader throughout her long and distinguished military career, CalVet turns to Irma Hagans Cooper Colonel (retired) to take us across the bridge from Black History Month to Women’s History Month. The Los Angeles resident spent 30 years in the Army, much of it running medical facilities and commanding companies that went on to serve […]
LISA DANIELS LIVES TO TELL STORIES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY
February is Black History Month, a time to highlight the contributions and achievements made by African Americans throughout history. But it’s an easy leap to say that for Lisa Daniels of Sacramento, every month is Black History Month and to go one step beyond: Every day is Black History Day. Daniels turned what began as […]
BUFFALO SOLDIERS ONCE PROTECTED YOSEMITE AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS
As Black History Month continues, CalVet recognizes the African American “Buffalo Soldiers” who once protected Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in the central Sierra in the years before the national parks systems was established in 1916. One day many summers ago, Yosemite Park Ranger and Historian Shelton Johnson had just finished his portrayal of a […]
Montford Point Marines fought a two-front war: the enemy abroad, prejudice at home
In celebrating Black History Month throughout February, CalVet will share several stories about African American service members and veterans. To begin the month-long recognition, we first pay tribute to the Montford Point Marines. A small number of African Americans served in the Marines from 1776 until they were banned from the Corps in 1792. That […]
Governor declares November as Native American Heritage Month
CalVet advocates for Native American veterans. Governor Gavin Newsom has proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month, and the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) sees this as the perfect time to reaffirm its commitment and dedication to the state’s Native American veterans. “We recognize the rich diversity of the Native American peoples and their […]
New CalVet deputy secretary for minority veterans affairs brings skills in triplicate
The California Department of Veterans Affairs hit a trifecta last month when Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Xóchitl Rodriguez Murillo to be the agency’s deputy secretary for minority veterans affairs. Murillo is a minority veteran and a U.S. Army reservist who is well-versed in the machinations of the military, having served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She’s […]
